In March, I will be taking part in a symposium on the career of Paul Weller at Birmingham City University. Given his rootedness in mod and the 60s, I thought I would canvass the opinion of RZ readers on the questions / issues below, as any opinions might be useful to feed into the paper I am preparing. The actual questions are just for example, any opinions on the three themes listed would be welcome. I would of course be happy to share the finished paper with anyone who asks after the event. Please post here or feel free to email me off list if you’d rather. Thanks in advance for your input.

PM


Longevity: - How do you think Paul Weller has stayed popular for so long? Do you think his appeal is mainly to those of his own generation or younger people also?

Musical path: - Any favourite songs or stylistic periods? Any least favourite songs or stylistic periods? What do you think of his musical legacy overall?

Identity: - Does Weller only represent Mod / 60s style (musically, clothing etc) or are there other identities that he may be perceived as having (e.g. were the Jam ever a punk band?; does he define Englishness in pop music?)?

early jam stuff for me paul The Butterfly collecter my fav..his cds seem to drop in price very quick he is a strange one i buy his music sell it then buy it again but thats another story my story lol
How has he stayed popular so long i think being labeled with the MOD moniker IMHO

Paul Weller is consistently decent, often excellent and occasionally brilliant and that is why he has such staying power. Methinks a "2xCD Best of" would be so good!

Hi Paul

I'm a big Weller fan and have been for a long time, my answers are below:

Longevity: - How do you think Paul Weller has stayed popular for so long? Do you think his appeal is mainly to those of his own generation or younger people also?
I think he has stayed popular because he has constantly changed and not just churned out the same album year after year. From what I've seen at concerts, he appeals to many generation - people who have been fans since the Jam days still go and see him and now take their kids - I've seen many instances of this.

Musical path: - Any favourite songs or stylistic periods? Any least favourite songs or stylistic periods? What do you think of his musical legacy overall?
Not a big fan of some of the later Style Council stuff but I admire him for doing something different. My favourite Weller album at the moment is his latest one, Saturns Patters, which I think is an absolute masterpiece. His previous effort, Sonik Kick, I struggled to get into although some of it is OK.
Favourite Jam song is probably Bitterest Pill, favourite Style Council - It's A Very Deep Sea and from his solo period - well, I love his debut album so would probably go for something from that, as well as "Pick It Up" from Saturns Pattern. I don't think his covers album was too well received but there's some great stuff on it - The Bottle and Don't Make Promises spring to mind.

Identity: - Does Weller only represent Mod / 60s style (musically, clothing etc) or are there other identities that he may be perceived as having (e.g. were the Jam ever a punk band?; does he define Englishness in pop music?)?
Weller's style has evolved over the years so I wouldn't class him as just representing the 60's style. The Jam were obviously lumped in with the punk bands as they were around at the same time but their reach goes far beyond that and to me they are more mod / power pop.

Hope this helps!

P.S. I went to see Weller in 2011 and he played a great cross section of material including most of his singles from 2006 - 2011. A friend I went with wouldn't stop moaning afterwards that he "never played any of his well known stuff", this friend had bought Stanley Road then not bothered with any of his albums since and expected Weller to just play that, 15 years after it came out!

Thanks very much to all three above responses, that's all really helpful. By the way Bensons, I'm not a big Style Council fan either, though I have started to enjoy some of the earlier stuff and all of the singles more recently. I can't decide why they leave me somewhat cold. I think maybe because Weller gave up the guitar, I missed that about him. Also possibly because The Style Council was a group to start with (which I liked) but soon after became a duo (which I didn't so much)and that seemed to affect their sound / style adversely. I think I also at the time, lumped them in with every other white boy watered down funk-soul chart act that were abundant at the time, they were not distinctive enough. On hearing Weller's first solo album afterwards, that sounded to me what I would have preferred the Style Council to have sounded like all along, stripped down and soulful rather than seemingly competing with Wham and their ilk (harsh, I know!). Comment? Thanks again all three of you for taking the time to share your thoughts.

PM

i spoke to my wifes carer and she prefers style council to jam or solo stuff

I always loved, and still do, 'This Is The Modern World'. The liners to an old Cd copy say that a Jam fan club poll had voted it their least favorite. Sure, it is patchy with a few throw away tracks but for me 'Life From A Window' 'Tonight At Noon' for example are some of Wellers best songs ever, all 12 string jangle and poetic lyrics, oozing Who & Kinks... Bitterest Pill has got to be one of my fave records ever. Especially like The Jam stuff with a folky touch and a nod to psych..Liza Radley, Tales From The Riverbank, Dreams of Children. For me The Jam could do no wrong really. I don't like the Style Council much at all.
I think his 1st solo is a masterpiece. Wild Wood not too far behind. I stopped buying on sight with Weller about half a dozen albums in...I still pick up the odd one now and again and he's still interesting but I'm usually caught up in the oldies somewhere...